“Hide!” the sound of a woman could be heard. “They’re coming for us! Take the child and get out of here!”

  Morwin reawakened in a different space, a different time. The battlefield of raging flames, blood, and ash no longer existed. He was in a different body, but it belonged to the same person.

  Everywhere he looked, the world seemed blurry. Even the hushed voices all around were muffled. Again, he felt the presence of the present Galvin inside the mind of whoever eyes he were looking through, sharing the same space as him.

  “Galvin?” Morwin tried to call out with his thoughts. But Galvin didn’t reply. He couldn’t control the body of past Galvin to give a message to present Galvin, as these events have already taken place. And his mind was his own, so reaching out wouldn’t do anything.

  However, he could feel both Galvin’s, all their emotions racing through their minds. Morwin took another look at the blurry world and saw a rather young feminine figure standing there, long hair dangling by the side of her head, eyes which twinkled blue in the night.

  They were outside. That much was clear. Strangely enough, snow clung to the ground. It fell in billows, and Morwin didn’t know if this was still Agnius.

  “Run!” the female voice came again. Young Galvin looked up, concern and worry rushing through him.

  This version of Galvin was only five years old. He barely knew anything of the world, but he knew enough to know that whatever was happening was beyond his control, and it will shape his future.

  Several paces behind the woman, a man stood, sword drawn. He walked closer to the woman, slumped over with tears in her eyes.

  His mother. Mother and father. The young Galvin cried.

  His mother put a finger to his lips, shushing him. “Shh shh, it’ll be okay, my son. Just go and hide in the trees. Hide far away from the men coming here. Hide and wait. Don’t stop waiting until you hear nothing.”

  “But, mom,” Galvin started, but his mom closed her eyes, hiding back her tears. One escaped and rolled down her cheek.

  “It’ll be okay,” she repeated. He turned him to go into the forest. Everywhere, snow clung to the pine trees. The young Galvin looked down at his arms, and for the first time, Morwin noticed Galvin was holding a baby, wrapped snuggly in a white cloth blanket.

  Galvin’s brother. The one he made mention of. What had happened to him again?

  The young Galvin began to take the first couple of steps into the forest. Into the darkness of the night. He turned around and gave his mother one last look before everything was gone. Galvin leapt into the darkness.

  Screams echoed throughout the trees. Galvin struggled to see through the thick canopy, but legions of soldiers had come. Why all this for one woman and her husband?

  Morwin wanted the young Galvin to get a little bit closer, to let him see more, but he knew that wouldn’t happen. He was supposed to hide, and if he exposed himself, he might be hurt or worse.

  Metal against flesh sounded in the air, blood spilled on the ground, and before Galvin knew it, they had died. Galvin’s parents were slain right in front of his eyes.

  Morwin wanted to scream out. To reach out for the attackers and strike, fight back, do anything at all. Galvin’s emotions coursed through him, his anger radiant and destructive. This. This was what he had to live with all his life. Morwin was one step closer to understanding.

  “She had a son,” a voice said. “Look for him. By decreed of the king, no one with a Blessing is to be left outside his view.”

  Figures darted in the sky, only seen as silhouettes from the light of the moon.

  Morwin could sense Galvin wanted to get up and run, to scream. But fear held him in place, his breathing ragged and sweat rolling down his face.

  This Galvin was not the same one that Morwin had seen on the battlefield. That one had been brave and fought until the end, but this one cowered and hid in a ditch, waiting for night to end.

  Footsteps in the forest. Galvin continued hiding. The moonlight struck the man wandering through, and Morwin could see who it was for the first time.

  Lord De’Shai. His very own father, standing in the middle of this atrocity. Only, this Lord De’Shai was much younger, and not yet that close to the king. A man on his way to becoming the Minister of Miliraty, a man of war.

  Galvin planted the baby on the ground and ran. Ran as fast as he could out of the forest. Ran away from his brother and didn’t even look back. Ran for his own safety.

  The sound of footsteps brought the world back around the two of them. No ash or burning, no snow or death. The two of them, underneath many feet of dirt, in the dungeon, a sapphire necklace in between the two of them.

  Morwin blinked. A tear rolled down his cheek. No, this had to be some kind of fantasy. That world he saw… Galvin made it up to try and bring Morwin to his side.

  It felt too real. The ground underneath his feet, the snow on the trees, the evil look in the men. No one could make that up, especially not the mind of a five year old child.

  The footsteps grew closer. In fact, multiple footsteps sounded out. The light of a torch illuminated the staircase, and as the people drew closer, it shone through into the dungeon.

  His father stood there, not in his usual attire, but in attire worn by people from the military. On either side of him, people from his army walked with him. The one on the right held the torch.

  “Morwin,” Lord De’Shai spoke. “So you have come to visit the prisoner. The man you helped me capture and imprison. I could not be more grateful to you for bringing his treachery to my attention.”

  Lord De’Shai walked with both hands clasped behind his back, an impassive look in his eyes.

  Morwin stood up straight and faced his father. Or was this not his father? Nothing really made sense anymore.

  Morwin stood up straight and faced the man down. “Father,” he said. Looking the man in the eye, he could see nothing but pleasant memories of the man and his wife, being a pair of parents, showing him love.

  Could that man be the same man from the vision?

  “I have arrived to perform some questioning of this man. I had to make sure he wouldn’t fight back, so I had him chained down here.”

  Morwin nodded and stepped aside. He saw his father do terrible things through the eyes of a young Galvin, but Galvin isn’t exactly a saint either. He’s killed people in the battlefield, he’s lied and manipulated to get what he wanted, and he went against the king Morwin believed in.

  Morwin clenched his fists. “Good luck,” Morwin said.

  “I want you to watch, son,” Lord De’Shai said, his voice lacking emotion. Lord De’Shai nodded to both of his soldiers, and the one holding the torch took a step back. The other one stepped forward and opened a case of gemstones. Only one variety of gems sat on the velvet lining: amethyst.

  “I’m not going to tell you anything,” Galvin said, his voice also calm.

  “You can feel it, can’t you?” Lord De’Shai whispered. “The gems. Reach out to them and pull in their energy.”

  Morwin also reached out with his mind to the amethysts. He could feel the essence inside of them dissipating. Galvin’s Absorbing them.

  “Yes,” Lord De’Shai whispered. “You know you want to. It’s only human nature for you to take in any semblance of hope and use it. Go on, Absorb as much as your body can handle, until you’re about to burst.”

  Chains rattled. Grunting sounded out. Galvin tried desperately to break free. Morwin could tell that the prisoner was focusing on Strength and using all of his might to escape from the chains.

  Morwin knew it was futile. The chains are bolted tightly to the walls, and no matter how much the amethysts increased his strength, human limit could only go so far.

  The struggling ceased and the chains stopped rattling. Galvin had given up and began panting heavily.

  “How disappointing,” Lord De’Shai spoke. “For all your valor and talks of heroism, you are a weakling. Kill the king? Don’t make me laugh. You can’t even kill one of his underlings.”

  Lord De’Shai leaned in closer and whispered.

  Morwin immediately Absorbed some sapphire and focused on Senses. This time, however, he could numb everything else quicker, and he heard Lord De’Shai’s words to him.

  “All along, I have been in control. You thought you infiltrated me, took Morwin away from me, and turned him against me. Instead, he has become the greatest threat to you.”

  Lord De’Shai leaned away and held out an empty hand to his soldiers. One of them stepped forward and brandished a sleek dagger, planting it firmly in the man’s hand.

  Lord De’Shai clutched the dagger and began unwrapping some of the chains, letting them tumble from his hand and drop to the ground.

  Of course, Lord De’Shai didn’t unwrap too much of the chains. Just enough to be able to see Galvin’s face and some of his bare body. Despite him only being taken captive earlier this morning, bruises lined him up already.

  “Just get it over with,” Galvin spat.

  Lord De’Shai let out a smile. “Oh Galvin. You know I enjoy these kinds of things. Now, will you speak now or will you hold out?”

  “You know you can just bring a Screener in here and he will tell you everything you need to know. There’s no point in this.”

  “A Screener,” Lord De’Shai repeated. “Those with an affinity to sapphires, people more in tune with the power of Mind that can actually look into someone’s thoughts. Yes, there is someone in this nation like that under the king’s command, but bringing him here would take something fundamental away from all of this.”

  “And what is that?” Galvin asked.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “Fun,” Lord De’Shai spoke before raising the dagger up and plunging it down, the tip of the weapon sinking straight into Galvin’s skin.

  A blood curling scream rang out in the dungeon. Blood seeped to the ground, a little pool underneath where the prisoner stood.

  Lord De’Shai pulled the dagger out, half of it coated with the scarlet liquid, some dripping onto the cobblestone rhythmically.

  “Another funny thing about human nature,” Lord De’Shai spoke. “One that can’t be changed. Its need for survival. These amethysts aren’t for you to get the strength to break free. Even now, you’re subconsciously drawing in the energy of the gems, and using it to heal the wounds that have been inflicted, and you will heal what I will inflict. Over and over and over again.”

  Morwin could feel the essence from the amethysts draining. The cut Galvin sustained began to twist and knit itself back together, turning him whole again. Some of the bruises started to disappear as well, its dark purple fading to a more lighter color.

  “And that lets me do this. Again and again,” Lord De’Shai said, plunging the dagger into Galvin again.

  Another scream rang out. This time, Lord De’Shai kept the blade inside and twisted it around. The Minister dragged it upwards slowly, cutting against more of his insides, more blood coming out.

  “Tell me the names of who work under you. Your base of operations. Your plans to takeover this country. I want to hear all of it.”

  “Never,” Galvin said between gasps of breath. Then another scream.

  Morwin stood there, frozen. He didn’t know if he could do anything. The man he’d seen before, the man acting like a father. Those had just been pretenses. Nothing but falsehoods, sprinkled all throughout his life.

  This man right here is the same man as the one he saw in Galvin’s memories. The memory of a snowy night, when everything was taken away from the two of them.

  Morwin clenched his fists and was powerless to do anything but watch.

  More essence from the amethysts vanished. The cut reknit itself and within minutes, became whole again.

  “It’s true an amethyst can heal you, but all of that is just physical healing. You still feel the pain, don’t you?” Lord De’Shai spoke.

  “Go to hell,” Galvin said through sputtering gasps.

  De’Shai didn’t even ask the questions again before the blade came down, sinking into his skin once again, in the same spot. This time, the older man twisted the knife around more and more violently, causing more damage and pain.

  Galvin responded by screaming even louder. Tears rolled down his cheeks and dripped to the cobblestone floor.

  De’Shai pulled the blade out.

  “Just kill me,” Galvin said, blood spurting from his mouth. More essence being drained, the damage being fixed, and his skin became like new once again.

  “In time,” Lord De’Shai spoke. “I will in time, so you don’t have to worry about that. Why not just sit back and enjoy the show for right now?”

  The blade came down again, and more screams echoed through the dungeon. Even the other prisoners grew quiet in the face of this torture. Were they listening to the pain of this man, or were they simply scared of the monster before them?

  “Father,” Morwin found his voice. “That’s enough. You’re hurting him.”

  Lord De’Shai stopped where he was and pulled the knife out. The wound began to heal itself again then stopped midway.

  “It’s out,” Lord De’Shai noted.

  At the sound of that, one of the soldiers pulled out another case of gemstones and opened it, revealing amethysts. He set it on the ground in front of Galvin, and the wound immediately started to repair itself again.

  “Morwin,” Lord De’Shai spoke. “Do you not like what you see before you?”

  “No,” Morwin muttered. “It’s horrible what you’re doing to him. He may be an enemy, but does he deserve this?”

  “This is the strength you will need to learn to be capable of,” Lord De’Shai spoke. “If you are to take my spot as Minister of Military one day, then you will have to find the strength to do something like this to people like him.”

  “This isn’t strength,” Morwin spoke. “He’s chained up. He can’t fight back. What you’re doing… is wrong.”

  “Just watch,” Lord De’Shai spoke. “I will break his will. He’ll tell me everything there is to know about his precious Justicar.”

  “This is going too far…,”

  “Damn it Morwin!” Lord De’Shai shouted, his face flush and full of anger. “Do you not hold the same hatred for these people as I do? You’re my son, after all! We’re here to avenge the people who died protecting this kingdom. We’re here to avenge the death of your mother.”

  Mother…

  He could no longer see the woman who held his hand with this monster of a man. Instead, she saw the young woman in the forest, collapsed on the ground, bleeding out. He saw the smile she gave her son in the face of her own execution as she sent him away from the slaughter. She saw someone who made the ultimate sacrifice so her sons could escape.

  Morwin said nothing else and Lord De’Shai resumed the torture, once again sinking the blade into Galvin’s skin.

  Morwin looked up into his brother’s helpless eyes, searching for anything in them. And he could see it there. Genuineness.

  Galvin wasn’t lying. The promise he made had been real. Harm didn’t come to his family nor servants. Darius cleared out the building before attacking Lord De’Shai. Darius never truly attacked Morwin. This man right here, no, this monster, wasn’t Morwin’s family. The world once again turned itself upside down and everything he thought he knew shifted and changed.

  Lord De’Shai pulled the blade out. “Now speak,” he said to Galvin. “Names. Locations. Plans. Numbers. I want it all.”

  Instead, Galvin looked straight to Morwin. Even in the face of such torture, of being brought to the brink of breaking, Galvin didn’t think about him.

  I’m sorry, Galvin mouthed.

  He understood. The weight Galvin has had to bear these past years. Leaving him in the forest and running away, letting Lord De’Shai get his hands on Morwin.

  Watching as a servant while his own brother was being brainwashed by the king and his nation, powerless to intervene. It had all been a burden on him.

  Morwin understood why he fights now. He wasn’t some kind of anarchist seeking to topple the balance of the kingdom. He was fighting for a better future for Agnius and all its people.

  And could Morwin really forgive himself if he turned a blind eye to that?

  The knife went down again, in the same spot as the previous five times, and screams echoed through the hallway.

  No. He wouldn’t stand to be an accessory in this… evil.

  STOP!!!! Morwin thought with all of his might, the tempest of his sapphire surging through his veins. He’d focused everything he could muster into mind, taking the rest of the essence, and directing all of that force straight to Lord De’Shai.

  The knife didn’t plunge down again.

  Morwin stood up straight and marched up to the man he’d called his father.

  “What did you do?” one of the guards said, grabbing Morwin by the hand.

  Amethyst surged into him and he focused it on strength, sending a powerful enough blow that sent the guard flying to one of the other jail cells.

  The sound of bone crunching rang throughout the halls as the soldier struck metal.

  The other soldier sprang into action immediately, dropping his torch and going for Morwin, sword outstretched.

  He remained calm. Even with a sharp sword rapidly approaching him, everything fell into place. He took a step to the right, the slightest of steps, and ducked underneath the trajectory of the attack, and slammed his fist right into the guard’s stomach, using his other hand to disarm the soldier, and sending him flying backwards.

  Lord De’Shai turned to Morwin.

  “You would do this against your own father?” he spoke.

  Morwin continued forward. The ferocity of his attack on Lord De’Shai’s mind still paralyzed him. Morwin ignored the older man and began severing through chains.

  “You know this is an act of treason right?” his father pleaded.

  Morwin ignored him and continued on cutting, removing the chains one by one. He found it surprisingly easy to do so.

  “No matter how much good will I show you, the king will not stand for this. Your father will not be able to protect you.”

  “Do you ever stop talking for one damn second?” Morwin said, cutting through more chains.

  He didn’t know why he said that. He usually showed cowardice, especially before someone such as De’Shai. But not here. Here, he felt in control. He felt powerful. And it wasn’t the sapphire’s doing.

  “You never cared about me,” Morwin spoke. “All throughout my life, all you cared about was power. I’m nothing but a tool to you, but I’m not going to take it any longer.”

  “Son,” Lord De’Shai said, his expression twisted and in pain now. “Please, no.”

  “I am not your son,” Morwin said with a fierceness he didn’t know was inside him. “You killed my parents years ago, took me in as a baby, and made me believe I was. But I am free.”

  The final chain sliced clean. Galvin tumbled forward, slumped over. Then he reached for the sword, yanking it from Morwin’s grip, and launched for Lord De’Shai.

  It was Morwin who stopped his brother from proceeding. A hand on a shoulder, holding him back.

  “And don’t you start too,” Morwin said.

  “He’s right here! You saw what he did! We need to kill him!”

  “I’ve seen enough pain today,” Morwin spoke, his voice as calm as ever. “Please, no more. Let’s just get out of here.”

  Galvin lowered the weapon. “Fine,” he spoke.

  The pair started walking away, with Lord De’Shai still frozen there, helpless. Galvin scooped the amethysts that still had essence within them and held them tightly.

  “You know this makes you an enemy of the kingdom, right? We’re going to stop at nothing until the lot of you have burned to the ground!”

  Morwin didn’t turn around.